Upon entering the sanctuary of the church, one immediately notices the four large stained glass windows which add beauty to the worship area. The windows were crafted near the turn of the 20th century by the Povey Brothers of Portland, Oregon. There is no record of their original cost, but an estimate of $700 has been made. The Congregational Church of Dayton has records of spending $300 for their stained glass windows which were also produced by the Povey Brothers in about the same time period. The windows in the First Christian Church are larger resulting in the $700 estimate. In 1984, they were appraised at a replacement cost of nearly $75,000. In January of 1985, the windows were re-cemented, cleaned, repaired and protected by a special outdoor covering at a cost of $4,280. The covering has kept the windows free from vandalism and has proven to be a good insulator to save on winter heating costs.
The following interpretations of the windows are given to help understand the "sermons in glass" that are told through the stained glass.
On the South wall of the sanctuary, is a window which was purchased by the "Y.P.S. of C.E." This was the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor. The top of the window carries the phrase "The righteous shall flourish like a palm." The picture in the window depicts the scripture. The river represents the Jordan and symbolizes life; the palm symbolizes the righteous man.
Notice two special things about the picture: There is a dove in the lower right hand corner which symbolizes the Holy Spirit and there is a barrel cactus in the lower left hand corner which will not be found in a true Holy Land scene!
The window in the Northeast wall is the "Cross and Banner" window and was donated by the ladies of the church. The bejeweled cross in the center of the window is surrounded by a banner of victory. A crown of victory also surrounds the cross. The banner reads "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." The two small windows on either side represent the Greek letters "Alpha" and "Omega" which are used to represent the eternality of Christ. The upper window is centered upon the dove which represents the Holy Spirit. The dove is inside the star of David which represents the nations of the Jews, or the people of God.
Interestingly, the cross and banner window once was installed where the Good Shepherd window now rests. This was before the additional space was added to the sanctuary in the early 1900's. When the new wall was put in place, the Cross and Banner window was moved and the Good Shepherd window was put in its place. The reason for this change is no longer known.
The fourth window is the plainest of the windows. There is no mention of who donated the window, but if the women, the youth, and the Sunday School department donated windows, then that leaves the men's group. The window is a simple pattern that centers around two emblems which could be depicting sheaves of grain. That would depict the harvest theme once more. The upper window has a lamp and a Bible which are based upon the words "A light unto my path." It reminds us that the Word of God is the light that we need to travel the road of faith in the midst of a darkened world.
Additional restoration work is planned for the fall of 2017. The windows will be re-cemented, cleaned, repaired and protected by a new outdoor covering at a cost of $20,000 provided by a grant from the Warren Trust.